Flavorants are frequently added to tobacco products to achieve desirable organoleptic sensations. One of the common flavorants is menthol. Menthol is a volatile compound and tends to vaporize (volatilize) and gradually escape from the tobacco product during storage.
Various sorbent materials have been employed as additives in tobacco products to remove selected constituents of tobacco smoke. The more common additives include activated carbons, molecular sieves, zeolites and mixtures thereof.
Activated carbons are useful sorbent materials and have a large absorbent capacity. However, while activated carbons are effective in removing targeted constituents from tobacco smoke, they lack selectivity and also absorb volatile flavorants such as menthol when present in tobacco products.
Accordingly, there is interest in providing flavorants such as menthol in tobacco products containing sorbent materials such as activated carbons, molecular sieves, and zeolites, in a form which protects the flavorants from volatilization, deterioration and absorption by the sorbent material while enabling the flavorant to be gradually released when the tobacco products are smoked.